Court caseAIR 1955 SC 233

Kamath lost the 1952 Lok Sabha election from Hoshangabad to Ahmad Ishaque. The Election Tribunal found that 301 ballot papers cast for Ishaque in one booth lacked the presiding officer's distinguishing mark and were, under the rules, to be rejected, yet it counted them on the view that the voters should not suffer for the officer's mistake. Kamath moved the Nagpur High Court under Article 226 for certiorari to quash the Tribunal's order. The High Court refused, and the matter reached a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.

The Court held that Article 329(b) only channels the election dispute into an election petition; once the Tribunal has decided, its order is open to certiorari under Article 226 like that of any other tribunal. Certiorari lies for want or excess of jurisdiction, for violation of natural justice, and for an error of law apparent on the face of the record, but the court does not sit in appeal and cannot correct every error. Counting ballots that the rules declared void was a patent error of law. The Court also explained that prohibition is issued while proceedings are pending, to stop them, while certiorari quashes what has already been done.